Persepolis 1 vs Persepolis 2: Analyzing Satrapi's Visuals Anonymous 10th Grade

Marjane Satrapi is an Iranian author and illustrator who grew up in Tehran in a middle-class family. Both of her parents were political activists and supported a Marxist ideology in contrary to the beliefs of the monarchy of the last Shah. Although Satrapi’s family was a relatively progressive and secular one, she had a very strong personal connection with religion, up to the point where her only desire was to become a prophet. The majority of her childhood was ridden with war, violence and Islamic fundamentalist oppression. In both of Satrapi’s memoirs, Persepolis 1 and 2, Islamic fundamentalism is a highlighted topic. She details how the strict regime controlled activities such as alcohol consumption to how women were permitted to act in public. In these memoirs, Satrapi uses graphic weight and empty background to show that Islamic fundamentalism takes an emotional toll.

In the first Persepolis memoir, Satrapi delves into her younger childhood years. Although just a child, she still feels the political weight put on her by the fundamental regime. She communicates this through the use of graphic weight and background.

Satrapi begins her first memoir with a chapter called the veil. In the second panel of page one, Satrapi uses...